Integrate to Zero: Policies for On-Site, On-Road, On-Grid Distributed Energy Resource Integration

To meet decarbonisation goals, global renewable power capacity will need to more than triple by 2030, according to leading energy agencies. Centralised renewable generation will not deliver this level of change on its own, nor should it. Distributed energy resources (DERs) such as heat pumps, electric vehicles, small-scale solar generation and battery storage are essential to ensuring that clean power is the most affordable and reliable option for all countries.

Distributed energy resources must be effectively integrated with the grid if they are to fulfil their potential. Integration allows them to be used flexibly to draw power from or feed …

OurEnergyPolicy Event Summary – Reliability and Resilience within Competitive Markets

This event summary highlights key comments made by industry experts at an OEP webinar in March 2023. Featuring panelists from the Energy Choice Coalition, Edison Electric Institute, and C3 Solutions in a discussion on competition in energy markets and issues of cost, reliability and resiliency.…

Microgrids Maximize Value from Solar Power – On and Off the Grid

Solar energy is rapidly developing as one of the most common forms of renewable energy production. They produce clean, locally generated energy — a must-have in a time of ambitious sustainability goals. But not all solar installations are alike. While they capture the benefit of lower emissions and reduce the cost of electricity consumed, many do not realize the full investment value because of disruption costs that stem from utility grid dependence.

Our white paper will provide you with valuable insights and practical advice on how to optimize your solar installation to achieve maximum value. Learn about the limitations of …

Cybersecurity Considerations for Distributed Energy Resources on the U.S. Electric Grid

To address the impacts of climate change, the U.S. electric grid will be undergoing significant changes by integrating clean energy resources such as solar and wind. These efforts will be accelerated with the recent passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. Furthermore, electric customers will continue to adopt intelligent energy devices, including smart lighting and thermostats, which will be able to communicate with rooftop solar, electric vehicles, and more. These efforts will be critical for combating climate change and providing resilience benefits before, during, and after major events. However, as the U.S. electric grid …

Demand Flexibility and Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings 101

Demand flexibility (DF)—the ability of buildings and equipment to adjust energy use dynamically in response to grid conditions—and its application in grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB)—energy efficient, smart buildings that provide demand flexibility co-optimized to serve occupants and the grid— offer important capabilities for managing an increasingly complex electricity system. They will be key to address imperatives of energy affordability and equity, reliability and resilience, and environmental protection, including energy system decarbonization. The potential to align energy use in buildings and facilities with grid conditions to mutually support customer, grid, and societal needs has far reaching electricity policy, regulatory, and investment …

Building a Stronger, Cleaner Electric Grid

To face a climate-altered future, the United States needs a resilient, affordable, and nimble electric system, one that can adjust and adapt to any situation, keeping the lights on no matter the challenge. Ensuring that we have affordable and available electricity requires that Congress pass legislation now to support renewable energy and build a more resilient electric grid—the system that connects a source of energy such as a power plant to the consumers who use it.…

How to Use Capital Funding to Build System Resilience, Reduce Risk, and Save Money

Steel does not last forever. A significant percentage of the steel utility structures in service are over 40 years old, an age at which
the cumulative effects of corrosion begin to take their toll. Traditionally, utilities have not included below-grade assessments in their maintenance programs, resulting in unseen and unidentified hazards. These facts, combined with environmental impacts, have put America’s steel transmission structures, and the country’s power grid, at increasing risk.

Steel structure assessment and remediation results in structures that are more resilient in weather events, last significantly longer, and cost less to maintain. The outcome is an improved and …

Grid Energy Storage: Supply Chain Deep Dive Assessment

This report provides an overview of the supply chain resilience associated with several grid energy storage technologies. It provides a summary of each technology’s supply chain, from the extraction of raw materials to the production of batteries and other storage systems, and an analysis of the vulnerabilities of each supply chain. It also discusses the current supply chain risk and resilience for the United States, as well as competitiveness of the U.S. supply chain and potential opportunities. This analysis serves as a basis for highlighting several vulnerabilities and their causes in the grid energy storage supply chain to inform policy …

Electricity-Water Critical Infrastructure Interdependencies: How States Can Enhance Resilience and Reduce Risks

Electricity is essential for the operation of virtually all other critical sectors, such as water, telecommunications, natural gas, transportation, and petroleum products. Further, in many cases each of these other vital sectors are critical to the generation and operation of the electric grid. During a power outage caused by a human or natural disaster, impacts are not limited to one sector, and the resulting economic and human consequences ripple across multiple sectors and impact the lives and livelihoods of not only the community affected by the disaster, but oftentimes neighboring communities and states as well.

This report explores the importance …

Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings Made Easy: A GSA Building Manager’s Guide to Low- and No-Cost GEB Measures

Buildings drive up to 80 percent of the peak demand on energy grids in the United States. As utilities incorporate more time-of-use pricing based on the cost or carbon intensity of the electricity being generated, grid interactivity has become more important and valuable than ever.

Grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) are energy-efficient buildings that flex their energy load from one time to another based on the cost or carbon intensity of grid electricity. GEBs are constantly responding to minute changes to grid price and carbon intensity, resulting in more beneficial integration between buildings and the grid that can reduce utility costs …